Your weekly conversation with our third president.

 
Featured
#1548 Ten Things about Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address

This week, Clay Jenkinson discusses Jefferson’s first inaugural address with regular guest Lindsay Chervinsky. The speech, inaudibly delivered on March 4, 1801, is regarded as one of the top five in American history.

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Talking out of Tights

Live at the Roper Theater in Norfolk, VA, on February 25, 2020.

You can hear the full album at the links below:

SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC | AMAZON | BANDCAMP

 
 
 
 

Repairing Jefferson’s America

A Guide to Civility and Enlightened Citizenship

Thomas Jefferson was the greatest idealist of the Founding Fathers of America. He believed that average citizens are up to the challenge of governing themselves. He envisioned a republic of well-educated, well-informed, engaged, and vigilant citizens.

Jefferson’s dream of a semi-utopian American republic has nearly been swallowed up by cynical partisanship, government gridlock, consumer materialism, and the corrosive power of money in American politics.

Jefferson believed in civility, majority rule, the primacy of science and reason, and harmony in all of our public and private relations.

Amazon | Koehler Books

 
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Civil Discourse

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Critical Thinking

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Good Citizenship

 

Thomas Jefferson was a student of the Enlightenment, of human nature and of honorable behavior. He applied this to his personal life and to the national & global challenges he faced during the forming of the United States. 

Clay Jenkinson, the nationally-acclaimed humanities scholar and award-winning first-person interpreter of Thomas Jefferson, portrays Jefferson on the program. Clay addresses listener questions with answers grounded in the writings and actions of Jefferson.

Our mission is to generate discourse between friends and family members which will grow into a national discourse about the topics essential to our country and citizens.

 

Ask Thomas Jefferson a Question

If you are sending a donation, please mail your contribution to:

The Thomas Jefferson Hour
1900 Burnt Boat Dr. STE 102
Bismarck, ND 58503

The Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization under tax ID #46-5726534.

 

What does it mean to be Jeffersonian?

The Jeffersonian consists of self-reliance, an uncompromising dedication to liberty (over security, profit, comfort and tradition), an unambiguous wall of separation between church and state, first-rate public education, thoughtfulness and diffidence about America's place in the world, and a commitment to civility.

Jefferson brought genius (not to mention reason, good sense and idealism) to everything he undertook, and he believed that the purpose of America was not to seek glory and profit in the world's arena, but to build a nation of quality, justice and cultural achievement.

 

Praise for the Thomas Jefferson Hour

The reason the TJ Hour works is obvious when you listen—it is Clay Jenkinson: his on-air warmth and intelligence, the breadth of his knowledge, the concerns toward which he directs the discussion, and his ability to connect with the public radio audience. The idea of using Thomas Jefferson as a framing device gives the discussion a perspective that distinguishes it from the usual public affairs discussion. It combines actual, serious discussion of important, overriding principles with the entertainment of the Thomas Jefferson set-up.  It works.  

Bill Thomas
Director of Radio
Prairie Public, North Dakota

The Thomas Jefferson Hour is a thought-provoking way of exploring contemporary issues through the lens of history. Clay Jenkinson brings listeners interesting and thoughtful perspectives in an engaging way.

Joe Moore
Director of Program Content
KVPR Fresno and KPRX Bakersfield, CA

The Thomas Jefferson Hour has been a staple of WHRV's lineup since its inception. With this market's deep history as home to our nation's first region, the Jamestown Colony's founding in 1607, and our Commonwealth's ties to Thomas Jefferson, interest in this program over the years has resulted in a sizeable listener base. We have hosted debates between Thomas Jefferson (Clay Jenkinson) and Alexander Hamilton (Bill Chrystal), and they've been overwhelmingly well-attended by enthusiastic audiences. In addition to our very popular local call-in shows, it's one of our most popular public affairs programs. 

Anthony McSpadden
Director of Programming
WHRV, Norfolk, VA

 
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“Jenkinson’s TJ is more than just an entertaining impersonation. It’s a vehicle for discussing political theory and the values that shaped our nation—both for the better and for the worse.”
— Sara Rathod at Mother Jones

The Thomas Jefferson Hour was named one of the "Best Under-the-Radar Podcasts" of 2015 by Mother Jones.

Read their March/April 2015 interview with Clay Jenkinson, both in and out of character.

Join the 1776 Club

Blog
Working with Ken Burns
Working with Ken Burns

“So he records in a barn? Where’d he get that?”

Storytelling
Storytelling

On this 1776 Club exclusive episode, Clay and David discuss storytelling, documentary film-making, and Clay's experiences being interviewed by Ken Burns.

The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence, read by Thomas Jefferson as portrayed by Clay S. Jenkinson, is now available to stream and download.

The 1776 Club includes exclusive bonus material and unlimited access to the episode archive which, when completed, will date back to the origins of the show in the early 2000s — about 15 years of the Thomas Jefferson Hour.

Your support keeps the show running and helps it grow.
Please note that membership in the 1776 Club is not tax-deductible.
To make a tax-deductible donation to The Thomas Jefferson Hour, Inc., visit our donate page.

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Featured
#1530 A Conversation with Jeffersonian Gardener Pat Brodowski
#1530 A Conversation with Jeffersonian Gardener Pat Brodowski

This week on the Thomas Jefferson Hour, Clay Jenkinson visits with Pat Brodowski, formerly the head gardener at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Pat explains how she found her way to Monticello, what she learned about Thomas Jefferson from working every day in his extensive garden, and how she is occupying her time now as a retiree. Plus, Pat gives tips to our listeners about how to grow something in the next year.

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#1515 Ten Things About Jefferson's Daughters with Lindsay Chervinsky
Episode
#1515 Ten Things About Jefferson's Daughters with Lindsay Chervinsky
Episode

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss Jefferson's daughters. Thomas Jefferson was highly expectant of their behavior and let them know it through a series of letters. When he died in bankruptcy, his daughter Martha was left nearly penniless and had to deal with the aftermath of Jefferson's poor money management.

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Episode
#1511 The Densmore Repatriation Project
Episode
#1511 The Densmore Repatriation Project
Episode

Clay Jenkinson speaks with David Swenson about the ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore and her work with the Lakota in the Dakotas beginning in 1911. David has spent the last year working on The Densmore Repatriation Project, re-cataloging and restoring her wax cylinder recordings.

At Standing Rock in 1911, Frances Densmore met with dozens of tribal elders and recorded traditional songs on wax cylinder. Densmore documented this work in her book Teton Sioux Music which became a touchstone for learning about Lakota/Dakota culture. The Densmore Repatriation Project reintroduces the songs with new recordings made by contemporary Native singers.

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Episode

Clay Jenkinson is one of the most sought-after humanities scholars in the United States

 

A cultural commentator who has devoted most of his professional career to public humanities programs, Clay Jenkinson has been honored by two presidents for his work. On November 6, 1989, he received from President George Bush one of the first five Charles Frankel Prizes, the National Endowment for the Humanities highest award (now called the National Humanities Medal), at the nomination of the NEH Chair, Lynne Cheney. On April 11, 1994, he was the first public humanities scholar to present a program at a White House-sponsored event when he presented Thomas Jefferson for a gathering hosted by President and Mrs. Clinton. When award-winning humanities documentary producer Ken Burns turned his attention to Thomas Jefferson, he asked Clay Jenkinson to be the major humanities commentator. Since his first work with the North Dakota Humanities Council in the late 1970s, including a pioneering first-person interpretation of Meriwether Lewis, Clay Jenkinson has made thousands of presentations throughout the United States and its territories, including Guam and the Northern Marianas.

In 2008, Clay became the director of The Dakota Institute through The Lewis & Clark, Fort Mandan Foundation, to further expand his humanities programs with documentary films, symposia and literary projects. He is also the Chief Consultant for the Theodore Roosevelt Center through Dickinson State University and conducts an annual lecture series for Bismarck State College.

Clay is also widely sought after as a commencement speaker (he has several honorary doctorates); as a facilitator of teacher institutes on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Classical Culture, the Millennium, and other topics; as a lecturer on topics ranging from the "Unresolved Issues of the Millennium," to the "Character of Meriwether Lewis"; as a consultant to a range of humanities programs, chiefly first person historical interpretation (Chautauqua). Best known for his award-winning historical impersonations of Thomas Jefferson, Clay Jenkinson also impersonates other characters, including Meriwether Lewis, John Wesley Powell, Robert Oppenheimer, Theodore Roosevelt and John Steinbeck.

Read more about Clay Jenkinson and find out how to hire Clay for your event or any other professional enterprise.